Tuesday, October 25, 2016

Another round of diverse events filled October 2003, with a bit more artistic leanings. It started off with a stop by a local gallery in the West Bottoms, for a show featuring art work from several local graffiti artists, and after finishing up there it was back to the loft space in the same area for another "I" rehearsal. They were quite a collaboration. I have to wonder what became of these guys. I know the girlfriend of one of them ended up out in California, pursing theater, but that is about it.

The next day I got up early and headed down the street for a little local festival parade that the kids were appearing in, then it was another late night down at Kabal for some Frisky fun with local legend DJ Pat Nice.

Rinse and repeat, for another early morning and a full day out at the Renaissance Festival. One of the kids was an actor during the season. It was quite a bit of fun, and we mused over all there was to offer from beginning to end, then down to the Beach Club for a little DJ Battle I found out about at the last minute. It was really kind of a charade, if I recall correctly. There was no scoring, just whomever got the loudest cheers. Seemed a little silly to me, so I vowed to do it up right the next chance I got.

The following weekend I chilled. Part of that was out at a bonfire somewhere near Leavenworth, but it was chill. It was a Burning Man Re-Incarnate sort of thing. Djembe Kahn was there for the drum circle, and 666 Records topped off the night some solid PsyTrance. Meanwhile, Kourtney went a raving somewhere near St Joseph and brought back a collection of photos from what appeared to be a rather interesting experience.

I dropped in Evolution a couple of times, but attendance was relatively flat. The same was true for a new Thursday night at Segafredo with Steve Thorell. That one showed a little more promise, but then again Davey's was always kind of a hit-and-miss on Monday nights. They were, and probably still are, a terrible night for events in Kansas City.

Another new weekly popped up mid-Month at Kabal, Ritmo promised to serve up some of the best DnB/Jungle on a regular basis. There was a good showing of support, but not a lot otherwise. I am not sure how long that event ran, but I do have a couple of more related sets of photos.

Along with several other artists, my photos made an appearance at a showing at Kabal the next night. It was quite a bit of fun for everyone involved, but a little nervy the way some of the folks were leaning all over everything. We were supposed to leave stuff up for a week or something like that, but I think most of us removed our stuff after that night.

A huge vaudeville/burlesque style show exploded at The Palladium a few nights later, with all sorts of crazy and bizarre acts. Fire spinning, glass walking, bug eating, midget wrestling and an array of other presentations kept folks enthralled throughout the night to a diverse mix of local music. Kourtney was a huge help in covering that event.

Later in the month, I stopped in for a quick birthday wish to DJ AmJanda, while Kourtney bounced out to St Louis for Booty Halloween. It looked as though she had a blast, and probably more fun than anyone back home.

That same night in Kansas City, I dropped in on a party VJ Ones threw down at that dirty little place on Guinotte. The music was good, and quite a few came out in support, but poor promotion ensured the night would fall somewhat flat. We all had a great time though, and it was the perfect warm-up for what was left in the month.

In a more corporate sort of way, Smirnoff thought they might jump in on the scene by hosting a little private at XO Club to celebrate their recent release of flavored Vodka! There is every flavor imaginable these days, but all those years ago, it was a hot new thing. Hard to believe, right? It was an interesting night of performers and artists, and of course Vodka. Nobody was in any condition to leave that night and lacking Uber, the streets were probably the safest place to be.

The highlight of the month, and the party everyone had been waiting for, landed Halloween night at a relatively new space down in the West Bottoms. Inhibitions were lost, and musical nirvana attained in the costumed fray that was Phreakz! II. It was not quite the insane event the original had been, but no less fun. The sequel is never quite as good as the original anyway.

Saturday, October 08, 2016

It was a pleasant surprise to find the Ozark Trail festival downtown today. When we last looked to see what was going on in the area, we could not find anything of note. We must have just missed this. While much smaller than the annual Springfest, it filled a few hours of our Saturday afternoon nicely on a perfect fall afternoon in North Central Arkansas.

We got a late start after dealing with a few chores around the house, and did not make it down until about 1 pm. We headed straight for the car show, since it was to end at 2 pm. There were not a huge amount of cars, but some of the old standbys were there, as well as few I had never seen before.

After getting our fill of perfect paint jobs and glistening chrome, we made our way back down to Spring Park to see what there was to see there. The arts and crafts were slim and surprisingly in this election year, no political booths to be found anywhere!

Maybe we just missed it, but the closest thing we discovered was the Republican Women’s Book Club. They were simply selling gently used books, and not looking to purchase any votes at all. It was quite refreshing.

We paused for a moment at the small stone half-dome stage to listen in on a little bluegrass, and capture some video. The trio playing was quite good, and could have held our attention for hours, but there was more to see and they were taking a break.

Spending a bit more time wandering through the booths, we could not find anything we could not live without, so made our way back to the car, and on to other experiences. It was fun little diversion. Aside from the video, I only took a few photos of the festival part. Most of the photos are from the beautiful hot rods lounging on the courthouse lawn; otherwise, enjoy this little one minute clip of the bluegrass trio.

Saturday, October 01, 2016

It has been quite a while since we dropped in on the local Gladfest fall festival. Over the years, it seemed to lose its luster, and became little more than a sideshow of political nonsense, sprinkled over a carnival atmosphere.

Things change though, and we thought it might be worth a look. Another couple invited us to tag along with them though, so we went up for a look around.

They had been at the parade earlier in the day and echoed many of the same sentiments others had throughout the day, further validating our reasons for not attending the affair.

The previously fun-filled parade of school bands, dance clubs, local businesses, and charitable organizations showing off their float-making abilities had been replaced with an overabundance of waving politicians. That is really the last thing in the world we cared to see on a Saturday morning, so we abstained.

As well, the festival portion promised rides, games, and a wide selection of various arts and crafts. The latter, a little hard to find though, as prime real estate positions on the grounds had been thrown away on the larger commercial vendors. It took a bit of searching around to locate any art.

Wandering through the melee, we were accosted by some of these commercial types trying their best to give away a chance to get on their calling list.

One argued with me, that I was missing the deal of the century with my ongoing water supply. Long-term free, it was not, I am quite sure of that.

We survived the onslaught though and made our way to the Linden Square stage. Some relative young folks were stirring things up with some popular tunes, and doing a pretty good job of it.

The folks on the lawn seemed to be enjoying it well enough. A few folks were dancing, along with a a lot of the kids, while several from the older generation sat looking stunned.

Making our way through, obtaining a malted beverage along the way, we finally found the arts and crafts tents tucked out of the way in an inconspicuous location. It was as if they did not want to be found, likely since there were not many true arts or crafts within.

I did note one visual artist, smashed and sandwiched between a couple other booths selling manufactured trinkets. It was near impossible to view any of his work in the tiny space afforded, and he looked discouraged and frightened, hiding in the corner behind his works. They were quite good actually, but nobody would have noticed the way things were arranged.

Passing through the carnival games and rides, we declined the opportunity to put our lives and our lunch at risk, and quickly found ourselves back in the primary commercial drag. I was accosted yet again, this time by folks trying to bury in me in bibles, suggesting I hand them out to all of my friends. I politely declined, and escaped before they could stuff them in my pockets.

We exited the affair, having only been in the mix for about 30 minutes. It was ok, but not a grand time. It used to be, and there used to be a variety of things to see and do; especially local artists. I guess things just change that way, leaving only politicians, commercial enterprise, self-help gangs, and community organizers to amuse us.